American Petroleum Institute

AAA prides itself on its rapid response time for stranded motorists, but when it comes to taking a position on the brewing ethanol-gasoline blend issue, the group continues to say "wait a minute." In this case, AAA is accusing the American Petroleum Institute (API) of misstating AAA's position on allowing for higher ethanol blends, saying that a new ad campaign positions AAA "anti-ethanol," Domestic Fuel says. Of course, the ads are being run in South Dakota, which is among a group of Midwestern

The US Supreme Court has effectively rejected an effort to block sales of gasoline blended with 15-percent ethanol content (E15), refusing to hear a lawsuit and leaving in place an earlier ruling by a federal appeals court that confirms the fuel is legal to sell.

The battle lines on the ethanol in the national gasoline supply debate are getting more and more defined, or at least more legal. The fight between the ethanol industry and Big Oil (represented by the American Petroleum Institute, an association of 500 oil and natural gas companies) has bee winding through the courts, but now API is telling the Supreme Court just how bad E15 is bad for engines.

In late 2010, the EPA was sued by a collection of grocery, auto and petroleum industry association groups over the issue of increasing the nationally available ethanol blend from E10 – a mix of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol – to E15. Today, that lawsuit was thrown out by a U.S. Appeals Court on the grounds that the trade groups did not have the right to sue, Bloomberg reports.

It's not much, but Americans are using more fuel this year than last year. Numbers released by the American Petroleum Institute show that U.S. petroleum deliveries increased by 2.5 percent in September 2011, compared to September 2010. API chief economist John Felmy – always the economist, that's for sure – released this statement:

U.S. gasoline demand fell by 1.3 percent to a ten-year low for the month of August, thanks to consumer sentiment that is still stalled even as industry demand for diesel fuel shot up by 10.8 percent, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API). On a year-to-date basis, demand for gas was two percent lower than in 2010.
API chief economist, John Felmy, released a statement claiming the economy is to blame for weak demand for gas:

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reports total petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) fell by 0.5 percent in July, compared to the same month in 2010. Though miniscule, July marks the first time in 2011 that deliveries actually dropped when compared to the previous month. Perhaps more importantly, gasoline demand hit a ten-year low for the month of July. Once again, we turn to the words of API chief economist, John Felmy, to make sense of the situation:

Steadily rising fuel costs during the first three months of 2011 have had virtually no impact on total U.S. petroleum deliveries, says the American Petroleum Institute (API). First-quarter deliveries rose by 5.5 percent, compared to the same period in 2010. For March, deliveries surged by 7.3 percent over the same month in 2010, hitting a whopping 20.5 million barrels per day. API chief economist John Felmy said in a statement that the culprit here is the rebounding economy:

Despite rising fuel costs, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reports that total U.S. petroleum deliveries (a measure of overall demand) rose by 4.4 percent in February, compared to the same month last year. At a whopping 19.7 million barrels per day, petroleum deliveries hit a a three-year high for the month of February. Gasoline deliveries, which averaged 9.0 million barrels per day, posted an all-time record for February.

The American Petroleum Institute reports that U.S. petroleum deliveries (a measure of overall demand) rose by 1.2 percent in December 2010, compared to the same month last year. Additionally, deliveries shot up by 2.3 percent for all of 2010, compared to 2009. Likewise, gasoline and diesel demand continue to rise, with gas deliveries up by 0.6 percent for the year and diesel climbing by 4.8 percent.

Hitting an average of 9.3 million barrels a day, gasoline deliveries in the U.S. fell a minuscule 0.03 percent this July compared to the same month a year ago. Excluding 2008, gasoline deliveries reported are the lowest of any July on record since 2003. The American Petroleum Institute (API) continues to insist that demand is down due to our struggling economic situation, but could our decreasing need for gas be partially influenced by the rise of diesel?

According to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Monthly Statistical Report, U.S. gasoline deliveries for the first half of 2010 averaged 8.88 million barrels per day, 0.6 percent lower than the corresponding period a year ago. Though the drop in demand is minuscule, it does provide us with an indication that despite low gas prices and a rebounding economy, U.S. demand for gas continues to wane.

According to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Monthly Statistical Report, U.S. gasoline deliveries for the first half of 2010 averaged 8.88 million barrels per day, 0.6 percent lower than the corresponding period a year ago. Though the drop in demand is minuscule, it does provide us with an indication that despite low gas prices and a rebounding economy, U.S. demand for gas continues to wane.

There are broad strokes that you can take toward increased efficiency. Going that route results in expensive new technology or plucking the low-hanging fruit. The other way, of course, is to optimize everything obsessively, from wheel bearings to wiper blades. Engine oil is a vital, yet unsung necessity, and it can play a big role in fuel consumption as well as its obvious task of protecting the engine's internals.

With all the attention being paid to alternative fuels, it is not surprising that Big Oil should launch a PR counteroffensive. The American Petroleum Institute (API), advertising itself as "the People of America's Oil and Natural Gas Industry," is running a new TV ad, Delivering America's Energy Security, which can be viewed at their website at energytomorrow.com. Their contention is that there is still so much oil under America that we can achieve energy independence without getting off oil for

Despite Big Oil's recent run of record profits, they're still very concerned with the diminishing state the industry's image. The Wall Street Journal ran this article (subscription required) which reports that the American Petroleum Institute (API) is engaging in a "full-fledged, open-ended [advertising] campaign" and has turned to Harris Interactive, the same company that is entrusted to keep America's milk consumption on the ups. API president Red Cavaney has said that they "will spend what's

Calling ethanol a
"now-vital liquid", Business Week on Wednesday has an
entirely upbeat report on agribusiness giant ADM's recent profits, driven in part by surging prices of ethanol,
completely ignoring the warning of an "ethanol
bubble" we mentioned here yesterday. ADM is the largest producer of ethanol in the United States, even though
bioproducts (like ethanol) only account for one-fifth of the company’s operating profits, the magazine says.
Unsurprisingly, the incr